We stayed close to home over the holidays. It's been so nice to have relaxed time together to enjoy the beautiful area where we live. We really enjoyed a summer Christmas. It's so different from what we are used to that it makes it easier to be away from family. Although we do miss them so much and are excited to be closer soon!!

We've played at the beaches in our area, relaxed on some boat rides, and have enjoyed time with our friends in Gissy. The high point of the most recent boat ride was seeing dolphins! So keep looking until the end and you will see some Common Dolphins. It has been a dream of mine to see them in the wild, so yay for that! We are trying to make the most of everyday we have left in this beautiful county and spend lots of quality time with the people who have made it so enjoyable. Happy New Year:)

Hi! It's Elias again. I hope you enjoy these flowers. I know it's really cold and snowy back in the U.S. so we wanted to share some pictures of fun New Zealand flowers. It's summer here right now and the temperature has been close to 80 degrees.

Mommy and I went biking down our street and came across some awesome flowers. Some of these pictures were taken by me. My favorite one is the Bird of Paradise. We have one in our yard that is white. The Pohutukawa tree is close to the sea, about 5 minutes from our house. I had to include it because it is beautiful and blooms this time of year. It's called the "New Zealand Christmas Tree."

We weren't sure what many of the flowers are called, so we're hoping you can tell us. Please reply to this post if you know any of the names and we will include them.

I think it could be fun to play in the snow. I guess I'll have to settle for sand.